The Promised Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The "Death by Facebook?" Edition Mar 10, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Noah, and Times of Israel Ops & Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Death by Facebook?

We discuss the emergent popular wisdom that Facebook bears some responsibility for the continuing epidemic of stabbings, by bringing persuasive, murderous messages to the mobile phones of Palestinian teens, and the demand of Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan that the social network censure dangerous posts.

Rattling Skeletons in Knesset Closets

A new project by journalist-activist Tomer Avital, called “100 Days of Transparency,” uses drones and private investigators to uncover putative politician scumbaggery. Is this the sort of transparency we want and need?

The Sexist Skewering of Stav Shaffir: Salacious Satire or Simple Scumbaggery

A dumb-ass satire of MK Stav Shaffir on the right-wing Jewish Heritage TV channel strikes some on the left as sexual harassment, leading some on the right to cry “double-standard.” Is it o.k. to suggest that Member of Knesset masturbates on her bicycle?

Great songs of feminist rage, in honor of International Women’s Day:Korine Alal, MotekSarit Hadad, Telekh Kappara AlaiPoliana Frank, Gibor Tzavah HahaganahDana International, Ani Nitzahti

The "Trump ♥ Israel?" Edition Mar 03, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Our grief and theirs

Pundits, politicians, and plain folks are enraged at those who express sympathy for the parents of slain terrorists; on one side, they claim, are those who love life, and on the other those who glorify death. Why did empathy become a zero-sum affair?

Now it’s our turn

We discuss a new political movement that seeks to undo what it sees as 135 years of Ashkenazi hegemony, and to reestablish Zionism on a new, more open, more friendly, more humane, and more Mizrahi basis.

Trump ♥ Israel?

Donald Trump recently made the very un-Republican assertion that the US President needs to be neutral about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Cruz and Rubio attacked him, but is it possible that they love Israel a little too much for our own good?

All songs by Raphy Cohen:

Leaving Tel Aviv Asteroid And There You Go Digging In

The "Girls with Scissors" Edition Feb 25, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Girls with scissors

We discuss the anger over IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot’s statement that "I would not want a soldier to unload an entire clip into a girl who is holding scissors." What the hell is wrong with that?

There’s something about Miri

We discuss the revelation that Israel's Minister of Culture & Sport, Miri Regev, just eight years ago considered joining the Labor Party. Is the populist right the only lane open to ambitious Mizrahi politicians?

Cyber fodder

A new school program is tracking Israeli nine-year-olds towards careers in the army’s cyber intelligence units. Has cyber replaced Shakespeare in the smithy of our children’s souls?

All songs by Nomke (the nom de guitar of Noam Sadan), just back from her triumphant tour of Italy:

Yam HaAhava Walk Of Shame Ahava Achzarit One Of A Kind

The "Too Much of a Good Book?" Edition Feb 18, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Peace 2.0?

We discuss opposition leader Isaac Herzog’s proposal to build a massive fence – “They over there and we over here” – and disengage unilaterally from Palestinians. We ask, “Is unilateralism the new black?”

Litigating the Silence

A secret lawsuit has been brought by the army against NGO “Breaking the Silence,” to compel the group to share information it has gathered in the form of soldiers' testimonies. If BtS can hide the sources, shouldn't it share the information?

Too much of a good book?

A report has emerged showing that fewer high-schoolers are studying “humanities,” while more are studying Bible. Is scripture replacing Shakespeare in the smithy of our children's soul?

All songs by Yishai Kiczales:

Ata VeHaShtuyot Shelkha Mingle And Schmooze Asiti Ta’ut HaYafim VeHaAyefim

The "This Time, With Feeling!" Edition Feb 11, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Noah, and the Tel Aviv Review’s Gilad Halpern discuss three topics of incomparable importance (which this week all touch on issues of emotion) and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Dour, sour, and out of power: The Left's Grinch problem

We discuss whether the Israeli left is hobbled by its own anhedonia and general 'Grinchiness.' Should we, in such serious and fraught times, assume a more light-hearted attitude?

Invisible wounds

A viral video of a former IDF soldier testifying before the Knesset about his debilitating PTSD has shed light on the fact that this kind of trauma is more prevalent in Israel than previously thought. What should we do about it?

Anti-social networks

We discuss the assertions of an Israeli applied anthropologist that Israeli kids' excessive use of screens and social networks is turning them into sociopaths and solipsists. Might this have political implications?

All songs by Zaaluk, whose EP is available for download right now:

En Casa De Mi PadreFuerame A BanarUna HoraZaaluk’s drummer Roy Brosh’s drum cover of Dhafer Youssef’s "Farha"

The "We're here!, Vey iz mir!, Get used to it!" Edition Feb 04, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Best Western?

We discuss the historic cabinet decision that designates part of the Western Wall as pluralist and egalitarian. Is it a great victory for the home team or sort of a sell-out?

The hexed, vexed & perplexed textbook

The hubbub over a new edition of an Israeli civics textbook threatens to develop into a furor. Do we really need a unified civics textbook in a disunified civil society?

"We're here!, Vey iz mir!, Get used to it!"

How are we to regard the protester at the LGBTQ conference who opposed letting pro-Israel voices be heard? We may disagree with such Jewish BDSers, but don't we share at least some common cause?

All songs by Ella vs Mountain (Ella Doron), because sometimes you need a little pure pop for now people:

Charmed LifeI like youBigger than lifeSigns

The "Lucre, Filthy & Clean" Edition Jan 28, 2016

Show notes

Gilad Halpern (host of the Tel Aviv Review), pollster and political consultant Dahlia Scheindlin, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Lucre, filthy & clean

We discuss the "NGO Transparency Bill" and whether money donated by foreign governments is any different from money donated by foreign individuals.

Trust in an age of terror

We discuss the alarming deterioration of trust between Jewish and Arab Israelis, demonstrated by the results of the latest INSS poll.

Love of Labor lost

Eitan Haber, one of Yitzhak Rabin's closest advisers, wrote this week that Rabin's party just has too much baggage to continue. Is it time to stick a fork in the Labor Party?

All songs by Hagar Raveh in honor of her new album, Yeled Kof, that just dropped this week:

VeHaEtzev LeOlam Shivah LeEchoz BeLitaot Chatul BaGeshem

The "Spying on the Left: Tales of Moles and Weasels" Edition Jan 21, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Tales of moles and weasels

We discuss some recent revelations of right wing moles infiltrating human rights organizations. What, if anything, should be done about it?

Street justice?

We discuss the rage over a statement by Sweden’s Foreign Minister that Israel condones the "extra-judicial killing" of terrorists.

"I pledge excretion to the flag"

We discuss the decision to try a performance artist who defecated on the flag – is this another dead canary in the mine of Israeli democracy?

All songs by Nili Fink:

Toss AwayRiot CityDying AloneMasa Asphalt

The "Occupation is a Feminist Issue" Edition Jan 14, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

Condemn, and this time with feeling!

Some right-wing Israeli politicians are demanding that Palestinian Israeli leaders condemn Palestinian violence quickly, contritely, and convincingly. Do Palestinian Israelis have a special obligation to condemn Palestinian violence?

The Oligarch Faculty of Judaic Studies

We discuss a shocking exposé finding that Israeli hospitals, museums, universities, and zoos will let rich philanthropists do pretty much whatever they want in exchange for a donation.

Occupation is a feminist issue!

We discuss the decision of America’s National Women’s Studies Association to boycott Israel because their struggles "intersect" with the struggles of Palestinians. What are we to make of the politics of "intersectionality"?

All songs by Aviva Dese:

ShorashimTheir EyesUnfarasMurder

The "Trigger Warning: May Contain Optimism" Edition Jan 07, 2016

Show notes

Allison, Don, and Noah discuss three topics of incomparable importance, and end with an anecdote about something in Israel that made them smile this week.

People of not-this-book!

We discuss the brouhaha over the Israeli Ministry of Education’s decision to not include a book in the high school curriculum because of the book’s "racy" themes.

Trigger warning: May contain optimism

We found a rare, leftist end-of-2015 wrap-up that finds reason for hope – what’s up with that? Maybe this year hasn't been as bad as most of us are telling ourselves?

Gay for the Likud!

The newest MK, Amir Ohana, calls himself “Jewish, Israeli, Mizrahi, gay, Likudnik, a security hawk, a liberal, and a man of the free market,” but can you really embrace Gay politics from the right?

All songs by Dafna ve-ha-Oogiot:

Khaver Aravi Miskena Million Masakh

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